High school musicians showcase talents

by  Angelica Poversky - Richmond Review
posted Mar 13, 2014 at 4:00 PM
High school jazz ensembles gathered to share their collective talents and fill Gateway Theatre with beautiful music at the annual Jazz Night.

As part of Education Week late last month, teachers and avid listeners came to see what the Richmond District’s jazz band programs, and some 275 music students, had in store.

The theatre was filled was filled with diverse range of jazz music, from classic standards like Mack The Knife and funk tunes such as Chameleon.

While McNair made the audience want to get up and dance with rich energetic Hot Jazz and Swing, McMath stole the hearts of the audience playing soft smooth emotional melodies.

In between were various combos, trios of basses, pianos and percussion, with complex rhythms and powerful melody lines.

“It’s interesting to all come together and see all the other jazz bands in the district,” says Hunter Arceses a Grade 12 member of the McMath Jazz Band.

The bass player continues to say that jazz is an open art that is really fun and he’s made great friendships because of it.

“It’s really fun to play with others and jam. I’ve made two really good friends out of it.”

Arceses and many other participating students agreed that it was not only a great opportunity, it was also excellent to know that all of the proceeds from this event were returned to district music programs to further benefit students.
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